Wild deer quench their
thirst at a pond at Sanjnekhali in sun-parched
Sunderbans, West Bengal  PTI photo

MoD, forces
standoff continuesNEW DELHI,
April 5  Little signs of an early settlement are
available on the standoff between the Armed Forces and
the Ministry of Defence over the implementation of the
revised recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, a
notification for which was issued by the government in
February last.

Ketan
Anand, son of late filmmaker Chetan Anand,
arrested by the police on Tuesday night in
connection with the murder of film actress Priya
Rajvansh, being produced before a Metropolitan
Magistrate in Mumbai on Wednesday.  PTI

NDA govt to last full
term: ThakreNEW DELHI,
April 5  The BJP President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre
today expressed confidence that the NDA government at the
Centre would not only last its full term, but return to
power as well.

HC notice to MoD on land transferNEW DELHI,
April 5  The Delhi High Court today issued notices
to the Cabinet Secretary and the Ministry of Defence on a
case relating to transfer of four acres of prime land at
Kirkee cantonment to the Symbiosis Institute of
Management Studies, Pune.

Defence budget hike
irreversibleNEW DELHI,
April 5  Defence Minister George Fernandes today
said recent step up in defence budget would
be a continuing trend and was irreversible to keep armed
forces in pace with cutting edge technology.

The body of
noted Rabindra Sangeet exponent Kanika
Bandyopadhyay being taken to Shantiniketan in a
flower-decked carrier from Calcutta on Wednesday.PTI

K. Bandyopadhyay
deadCALCUTTA,
April 5  Noted exponent of Tagore songs
Kanika Bandyopadhyay, whose melodious voice won
the hearts of millions over half a century, died
today after a protracted illness.

Tributes
paid to Jagjivan RamNEW
DELHI, April 5  President K.R. Narayanan
today led the nation in paying homage to Jagjivan
Ram on his 92nd birth anniversary by offering
floral tributes at his statue in the Capital.

Mamata: Railways to promote HindiNEW DELHI,
April 5  The Railways have decided to produce a
13-episode television serial highlighting its role in
promoting national integration through the use of Hindi.
This decision was announced by the Railway Minister, Ms
Mamata Banerjee at the 47th meeting of the Hindi advisory
committee of the Railways here today.

Canada to host website on IndiaCALCUTTA,
April 5  The Canadian High Commission will host a
customised, India-specific website to market the country
to the Canadians.

Digvijay moots unified commandBHOPAL,
April 5  All Naxalite-affected states should have
unified police command to deal with naxalism, according
to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh.

Indian HIV testing kit soonNEW DELHI,
April 5  The first Indian kit to test AIDS-causing
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, that is cheap and highly
sensitive, will hit the market shortly, a Department of
Biotechnology official said.

Patent plant resources: expertsNEW DELHI,
April 5  Plant species grown and widely used in
India for centuries are being patented by the dozens in
developed countries.

UP CM: no threat to governmentLUCKNOW,
April 5  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ram Prakash
Gupta and State BJP Chief Om Prakash Singh today asserted
there was no threat to the government or the leadership
in the state.

WB Congress gets nod to talk to TCNEW DELHI,
April 5  In a significant development, the Congress
high command today gave the formal go ahead to its West
Bengal unit to hold talks with NDA constituent the
Trinamool Congress on formation of a grand
alliance to defeat the CPI-M in next
years Assembly elections, but with a rider that
there could not be a tie-up with the BJP.

AI to clear stranded HajisNEW DELHI,
April 5  In a massive airlift operation, Air India
is operating 30 flights today and tomorrow from Jeddah
(Saudi Arabia) for the Haj pilgrims stranded there for
the past few days.

Kerala, TN talks failTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
April 5  Chief Ministerial-level talks between
Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the vexed Mullaperiyar dam
issue failed today as both states refused to budge from
their intransigent positions on maintaining the water
level of the reservoir.

NEW DELHI, April 5
 Little signs of an early settlement are available
on the standoff between the Armed Forces and the Ministry
of Defence (MoD) over the implementation of the revised
recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, a
notification for which was issued by the government in
February last.

It has now been more
than a month, with the notification having been issued by
the MoD on February 29, when the three services were
ordered to implement the recommendations which had been
revised by the group of ministers and then passed by the
Union Cabinet. But the three services have till now not
taken any action and have actually been waiting for the
government to take further action on the protests made by
them.

Although the Navy had
initially sent out an India General signal,
informing all its units about the recommendations, but
then soon put them on hold to keep in step with the Army
and the Air Force that had taken no follow-up action on
the notifications.

The chiefs of the three
services had on March 2 last met the Defence Minister, Mr
George Fernandes and expressed their unhappiness over the
revised recommendations as had been notified by the
government. But still there has been no outcome of that
meeting with nobody apparently wanting to budge from
their position.

But as a result the
service officials have not got any revised salaries or
nor is there a possibility of them getting them in the
near future. Although still there have been no open
protests within the services over the revised
recommendations of the Pay Commission, already there have
been rumblings and the armed forces personnel are said to
be not very happy with them.

The Defence Ministry
officials are also wary of saying anything about the
possibility of the outcome on the present standoff lest
it fuel another controversy. However they say that as of
now the notifications remain in effect and they had not
been withdrawn. Besides there were also no orders to keep
them in abeyance.

There are indications
that even the service headquarters had not made any
official representation against the notifications.
However, it is understood that the armed forces have
deliberately refrained from lodging formal protests as
that could be interpreted as defiance and hope that their
non-implementation of the notifications would serve to
have the matter reviewed.

For the present, both
the government and the service headquarters appear
anxious to avoid an open confrontation, but unless formal
moves are made in one direction or another, the stalemate
could have an unhealthy impact. The Pay
Commissions award is valid for 10 years, almost
three have elapsed and we are still waiting for higher
allowances, a service officer said.

It was over allowances
that the IAF witnessed an ugly agitation -a mutiny many
would insist - in 1997 following which a committee was
appointed to review the matter. Its report was not
accepted in toto.

The matter was then
dealt with at the level of Cabinet Secretary and Chiefs
of Staff, but again no satisfactory way out was found.
Eventually a ministerial group deliberated the matter and
last month, the notifications were issued. The ministry
maintains the aim was to redress some, but not all
grievances.

The notifications did
not cover the pay scales for non-officers, and those of
the rank of Lieutenant General, Vice-Admiral and Air
Marshal.

The official explanation
is that the ministerial group is yet to decide on them,
the pay/allowances of that bracket of senior officers is
said to have wider implications.

MUMBAI, April 5 (UNI)
 A property dispute may have led to the murder of
actress Priya Rajvansh, senior police officials today
said. Securing ownership of the Ruia Park bungalow, which
was in the name of the accused brothers Ketan Anand and
Vivek Anand and Rajvansh, was the motive behind the
murder, they believe.

The bungalow was owned
by the late Chetan Anand, father of Ketan and Vivek.
Rajvansh, who was a close friend of Chetan Anand, was
staying in the bungalow.

Ketan, Vivek,
Rajvanshs maid Mala Chaudhury and her associate
Ashok Chinnappa Swami were arrested by the Mumbai police
last night. Mala and Swami have confessed to the crime, a
senior official said. The Crime Branch, which is
investigating the case, may arrest one or two more
persons, he said.

The investigating
officer from Juhu police station stepped into the witness
box to unfold the prosecution story that the two brothers
had allegedly planned the murder over a property dispute
and hired the maid and her associate to kill
the actress by paying them Rs 4000.

The police alleged the
dispute was over the Juhu bungalow of late Chetan Anand
in which Priya, Ketan and Vivek had equal shares.

Satish Maneshinde,
counsel for Ketan and Vivek, argued that police had put
up a concocted story as there was no dispute
over property between the Anand brothers and Priya, who
was treated like a family member.

NEW DELHI, April 5 (UNI)
 The BJP President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre today
expressed confidence that the NDA government at the
Centre would not only last its full term, but return to
power as well.

Talking to UNI on the
eve of the BJP completing 20 years of its existence, Mr
Thakre said while the BJP and its allies were gaining in
strength, its opponents, particularly the Congress, was
loosing ground by the day.

More importantly, he
asserted that the NDA had a wholesome vision
of taking the country rapidly on the path of progress
while its adversaries were a confused lot pulling in
different directions.

Mr Thakre said the BJP
firmly believed in integrated development of the country
so that regional imbalances were eliminated and no area
nursed the feeling of being left behind.

The BJP President said
there was no question of his party pushing forward its
own agenda at the expense of other NDA constituents. The
BJP has no special agenda to push. The NDAs agenda
for governance is the only agenda. The NDA government is
obliged to follow it, he said.

He parried a question if
the Ram Temple issue has been abandoned by the BJP. We
have to face the reality. Therefore, we decided on issues
that could be taken up now (by the NDA), he pointed out.

Answering another
question, Mr Thakre said there was nothing communal about
the Uttar Pradesh Religious Bill as it was aimed at
regulating construction of places of worship of all
faiths. Where was then the possibility of targeting any
particular community, he countered.

He dismissed as the
Congress and Leftist bogy the campaign against the Bill.
About the cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha
elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP President admitted
that perhaps there were certain elements within the party
whose sympathies lay with expelled party leader Mr Kalyan
Singh, but chose not to openly revolt for fear of
attracting the anti-defection law. The party was keeping
a watch on such elements, he said.

The BJP Chief was
non-committal on the move for forging a grand anti-Left
alliance in West Bengal.

The Lefts monopoly
of power in West Bengal must be broken, he said but, he,
however, did not say what impact the coming together of
Ms Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress and the
Congress will have on the NDA of which the Trinamool
Congress was a component.

About the growth of the
party, Mr Thakre, who will be relinquishing office in two
months, said we have traversed a long route since the
days of the Jana Sangh of which the BJP is a successor
and have a long way ahead. We are confident of reaching
our goal, he said.

NEW DELHI, April 5 (UNI)
 The Delhi High Court today issued notices to the
Cabinet Secretary and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on a
case relating to transfer of four acres of prime land at
Kirkee cantonment to the Symbiosis Institute of
Management Studies, Pune. Others who have been asked to
reply by a Division Bench comprising of Mr Justices Arun
Kumar and D.K. Jain, are the Chief of the Army Staff and
the Director-General of Defence Estates.

The public interest
litigation (PIL) filed by advocate B.L. Wadehra says the
government sanctioned the land for a period of 30 years
renewable for two more similar periods (totalling 90
years) at a concessional rent of Rs 6.92 lakh per year.
This was in breach of rules.

The government has
for the first time in the defence ministrys history
granted a large tract of land to a private organisation
for running an unrecognised institute which will not be
able to grant degrees and diplomas, the
petitioner said. Also, admission will be open to only one
category of people as a captive facility in contravention
of all rules and court directions on the subject.

The March 25 decision
has created an awkward precedent which may create a
demand for similar private bodies to set up captive
institutes for education of employees and their
dependants, Mr Wadehra said.

The Defence Ministry is
scheduled to perform the Bhoomi Poojan
ceremony on the said land on April 8. The petitioner said
the court must intervene and issue ex parte order of
stay.

NEW DELHI, April 5 (PTI)
 Defence Minister George Fernandes today said
recent step up in defence budget would be a
continuing trend and was irreversible to keep armed
forces in pace with cutting edge technology.

Asserting that the
step-up was essential to keep the armed forces adequately
equipped, Mr Fernandes said inadequate funds
had been the reason that the armed forces were caught
off-guard as at the start of the conflict in Kargil.

Addressing the ongoing
bi-annual Army Commanders conference here, the Defence
Minister said when Operation Vijay was
launched to throw out Pakistani intrusion in Kargil the
defence forces were not adequately equipped
due to paucity of funds.

Giving a strident call
to the armed forces to remain on vigil keeping in view
the extraordinary threats to national security, Mr
Fernandes told the senior Army Commanders to be on guard
as the nation expected another hot summer
this year in Jammu and Kashmir.

Expressing satisfaction
at the increased budgetary allocation for defence, he
said while it might not be enough to meet all our
requirements, we were on a path which could not be
reversed. We are making all efforts so that we are in a
state of much better preparedness.

Mr Fernandes said while
India wanted friendship with all countries, there could
be no compromise on the question of security of the
country.

He said the government
was looking forward to a debate in Parliament on the
Subrahmanyam panel report on the Kargil conflict saying
this would help in focusing on some key and urgent issues
relating to the countrys security.

Paying tribute to the
soldiers, the minister said victory in Kargil had created
a great deal of awareness in the country and the positive
fallout of which had been the increased defence
allocation this year.

CALCUTTA, April 5 (PTI)
 Noted exponent of Tagore songs Kanika
Bandyopadhyay, whose melodious voice won the hearts of
millions over half a century, died today after a
protracted illness.

Kanika (76), one of the
few surviving disciples of Rabindra Nath Tagore, was
admitted to the state-run SSKM hospital on March 8 with
complaints of acute lung infection and cardialogical
complications, hospital sources said here. The end came
at 6.20 a.m., they added.

Hundreds of her admirers
thronged the hospital as soon as the news spread across
the city.

Winner of several awards
including Padma Shri, Desikottam (the highest award of
Visva Bharati University), EMI golden disc and Allauddin
Khan Awards, Bandyopadhyay married Birendra Chandra
Bandyopadhyay, a deputy librarian at Visva Bharati
University, in 1945. The couple had no children.

Condoling her death,
West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu said: The
void created by Kanika Bandyopadhyays death will be
difficult to fill.

The body will be kept at
Rabindra Sadan for the public to pay homage before being
taken to Santiniketan for the last rites.

Kanika ruled the world
of Rabindra Sangeet like a queen  quiet, dignified
and charming, keeping under her spell generations of
music lovers for over four decades.

Her pet name
Mohar (gold coin) was symbolic of her golden
voice which set exacting standards for singers of coming
years to follow.

Born on October 12, 1924
at Sonamukhi in Bankura district, Kanika was noticed
early in her student days in Visva Bharati by Rabindra
Nath Tagore himself. Her lesson in music was learnt from
none else but Tagore.

Kanika was also indebted
to Sailaja Ranjan Majumder, who was a teacher of many
other illustrious exponents of Rabindra sangeet and
instrumental in popularising it and Tagores dance
form.

Meanwhile, Mr Maurya, in
a memorandum to the President, has demanded that the
highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, be conferred on
Jagjivan Ram posthumously in recognition of his services
to the Nation and a foundation created to propagate his
ideology.

NEW DELHI, April 5
 The Railways have decided to produce a 13-episode
television serial highlighting its role in promoting
national integration through the use of Hindi. This
decision was announced by the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata
Banerjee at the 47th meeting of the Hindi advisory
committee of the Railways here today.

Ms Banerjee said the
serial directed by noted film maker, Shyam Benegal was
expected to be ready for telecast by September.

She said the committee
must work in a broad minded manner and promote Hindi
while giving equal respect to other languages in the
country.

Addressing the meeting,
the Minister of State for Railways, Mr Digvijay Singh
said the Indian Railways have been in the forefront in
the use of Hindi through computers.

The Chairman, of the
Railway Board, Mr V.K. Aggarwal, said the ministry had
worked out plan to promote the use of Hindi in its
computerisation programme.

CALCUTTA, April 5 (PTI)
 The Canadian High Commission will host a
customised, India-specific website to market the country
to the Canadians.

We are trying to
have it up and running in another two months,
the Canadian High Commissioner in India, Mr Peter Walker,
told members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.

Stating that his country
was heavily dependent on immigrants, he said
India was Canadas second largest source of
immigration. Nearly 7,00,000 persons of Indian origin in
Canada comprised about 2 per cent of that countrys
population.

BHOPAL, April 5 (PTI)
 All Naxalite-affected states should have unified
police command to deal with naxalism, according to Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh.

The Chief Minister, who
participated in World Today programme of the
BBC last night, said since borders between Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa
were marked by dense forests where it was not easy for
security forces to reach easily, he was demanding joint
police action to tackle the Naxal-menace.

He said the problem of
naxalism has to be dealt with at the political and
administrative levels and it could be done by giving more
rights to tribals people, transferring to them use of
minor forest produce and implementing land reforms.

To a query on whether he
was satisfied with the steps taken by the Union Home
Minister L.K. Advani to counter naxalism, he said the
Union Governments attitude had improved and now it
was much more constructive in approach.

NEW DELHI, April 5 (PTI)
 The first Indian kit to test AIDS-causing Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), that is cheap and highly
sensitive, will hit the market shortly, a Department of
Biotechnology (DBT) official said. The test kit has been
developed by Delhi University South Campus researchers
under a project funded by the
Department-of-Biotechnology. It is based on recombinant
DNA technology in which DNA or deoxyribose nucleic acid,
the genetic material of cells, from different sources are
stitched together.

The technology was
transferred to Kerala Pharmaceuticals which is upscaling
the process in its laboratory in Ahmedabad.

Already about 30,000
kits have been produced, which are being validated by
different agencies, Dr V.K. Vinayak, adviser for medical
affairs at DBT, said.

Mr Vinayak, who
presented a paper on different HIV vaccine strategies at
a conference on HIV/AIDS organised by the Ranbaxy Science
Foundation here today, said once commercialised, the
Indian test kit were expected to cost only Rs 20 per test
compared to Rs 80 to 100 incurred per test with imported
Elisa (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) kits.

Mr Vinayak said the
Delhi University scientists joined together two genes.
One was from an antigen protein that is present on the
surface of red blood cells, and the second from the HIV
virus itself.

The recombinant product
was put inside a bacterium which produced hundreds of
copies of it to produce a watery material containing both
genes, Mr Vinayak added.

NEW DELHI, April 5 (PTI)
 Plant species grown and widely used in India for
centuries are being patented by the dozens in developed
countries.

It is indeed a
dangerous phenomenon and a threat to our
biodiversity, says Dr Balasubramaniam, head of the
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Department of the
Ministry of Science and Technology.

First it was neem, then
basmati rice, kala zeera (cumin), amla (Indian
gooseberry), kali mirch (pepper), ritha (soapnut tree),
dudhi (euphoriba hirta), and now its the turn of
karela (bitter gourd), jamun (blackberry) and the baigan
(brinjal) to be patented in countries like Japan, the USA
and China.

This means that
indigenous communities of our country who have developed
the various uses of these plants have been relegated to
the third party status as per the TRIPS
(Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights) agreements
or simply put, we now face the situation of having
to pay royalty for using our own natural resources.

The injustice is
being perpetrated because the intellectual achievements
of our local and indigenous communities are not
recognised and legally protected says Afsar
Jaffrey, Programme Co-ordinator of Research Foundation
for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE).

A legislation
should be moved as soon as possible to fill this huge
loophole, he suggests.

Jaffrey also stresses
upon the need for the government to include plants and
plant products in the list of non-patentable items as
they are not within the ambits of inventions to qualify
for patenting. Indias position paper for the
Seattle round had this clause, but unfortunately it has
been removed now, he says.

Suman Sahay, convenor of
NGO Gene Campaign and a former Professor of
Genetics in Germany suggests another way. The
solution lies in consolidating the agenda of India and
other developing countries to negotiate the linkage of
TRIPS and the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).

We promptly signed
all the clauses in the TRIPS, then the CBD came along and
US refused to ratify it. So what we need to do is to make
efforts to mobilise developing countries to demand a
linkage between the TRIPS and the CBD i.e. Every country
must either sign both the treaties or none, she
says.

The CBD, adopted in Rio
de Janeiro in 1992, assumes that when a state allows
access to a sample of genetic resources, it is in turn
entitled to insist on a number of benefits.

Research activities on
the genetic resources it provides have to be done in its
territory to help it build capacity. All the information
generated by research on that genetic resource must be
repatriated. Any biotechnology applied on the genetic
resource must be made accessible to it. And a fair and
equitable share of benefits accruing from the use,
including from commercial gains, must also be given to
it.

All these clauses of CBD
make it a rather pro-Third World treaty and thus it is
only fair that its linkage be sought with
TRIPS, argues Sahay.

Dr Balasubramaniam,
however, contends that the only way to curtail the
foreign firms from patenting our products is to patent
them ourselves. We have to treat it like a
race, she says.

The government is
helpless to that extent. We challenged the turmeric
patent successfully, but it is simply not possible to
challenge each and every such patent abroad. The whole
procedure of challenging a patent abroad is very tedious
and expensive. Thus, the best way is to get it before
anyone else does.

The problem,
however, is that we dont really have a patent
culture in the country. Most of the scientists, lawyers
and concerned officials are not aware of the patent
filing procedure. They may for once be thorough with
copyrights and trademarks, but when it comes to patents
we lag far behind, says Sahay.

On the other side we
have the developed countries like us with huge, elaborate
patent offices, computerised information and databases
and qualified staff. This factor goes a long way in the
race for patents.

The seriousness of the
Indian situation can best be understood from the fact
that the patent offices in our country have granted
patents for such common items as rice, dosa, green peas,
pulao and believe it or not on cotton seeds, in which
case it took a former Prime Ministers intervention
a few years back to have the illegal patent
removed from the register.

Moreover, the way to go
about seeking a patent in our country is in itself a
challenging task. There are four patent offices for the
entire country  one each in Mumbai, Calcutta, New
Delhi and Chennai . According to reports there are about
33,230 applications in the backlog waiting clearance in
these offices.

Add to this the
high-level of ignorance of the concerned officials and
the public at large about the process of filing patent
applications.

LUCKNOW, April 5 (UNI)
 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta and
State BJP Chief Om Prakash Singh today asserted there was
no threat to the government or the leadership in the
state.

Dismissing speculations
in political circles about a threat to his government
following recent signs of discontent among its allies,
the latest being the boycott of the Cabinet meeting
yesterday by two of its constituents, the Loktantrik
Congress Party and JD Raja Ram , the Chief Minister told
mediapersons that there was absolutely no threat to it.

NEW DELHI, April 5 (PTI)
 In a significant development, the Congress high
command today gave the formal go ahead to its West Bengal
unit to hold talks with NDA constituent the Trinamool
Congress on formation of a grand
alliance to defeat the CPI-M in next
years Assembly elections, but with a rider that
there could not be a tie-up with the BJP.

Asserting that Ms Mamata
Banerjees party was like
minded despite being part of the BJP-led NDA,
AICC spokesman Ajit Jogi, however, made it clear that
under no circumstances there could be any direct or
indirect adjustment or alliance with the communal forces
led by the BJP.

The announcement came
close on the heels of several rounds of talks the WBPCC
leaders led by the PCC President A.B.A. Ghani Khan
Chaudhary had with the party high command.

What is the
harm in talking to Mamata.... She had been a part of the
Congress, Mr Jogi told reporters in reply to
a volley of questions maintaining that such a dialogue
could be advantageous for the
party.

In an apparent move to
strike a balance between the two warring factions in the
state unit, the AICC also announced that a small probe
committee would be constituted to go into the issue of
cross-voting by a section of party MLAs which led to the
defeat of party nominee D.P. Roy in the recent Rajya
Sabha elections.

We have
taken cognisance of the affairs and developments in the
West Bengal Congress. We appreciate the role of MLAs who
voted for the Congress candidate. AICC cannot, however,
overlook the cross-voting by a section of the party
MLAs, Mr Jogi said.

Mr Jogi said the probe
committee to be constituted soon would complete its work
as early as possible.

Asked as to why the
Congress leadership was delaying action against the West
Bengal MLAs, who voted against the official nominee, and
was not following the Maharashtra case in which it had
acted against 11 MLAs, he merely said no two situations
are alike.

Replying to a question
on the state Youth Congress President Paresh Pals
reported statement that the CPI-M was more communal than
the BJP, he said the AICC does not endorse that view.

Meanwhile, WBPCC chief
Chowdhury had detailed discussions today with AICC
General Secretary in charge of state Prabha Rao and AICC
Secretary Pawan Bansal. Senior Congress leader S.S. Ray
was also present at the meeting.

NEW DELHI, April 5 (UNI)
 In a massive airlift operation, Air India is
operating 30 flights today and tomorrow from Jeddah
(Saudi Arabia) for the Haj pilgrims stranded there for
the past few days.

We are operating
14 to 16 services today and tomorrow by the midnight of
April 6, there will be no backlog as far as passengers
are concerned, Mr Jitender Bhargava, Air India
Director, Public Relations, Inflight Service and National
Marketing Division, told a press conference today.
Explaining the situation arising out of the huge
number of pilgrims this year, Mr Bhargava said,
the backlog occurred in the first week itself with
allocation of only four check-in counters, one X-ray
machine and one bay to Air India at the Jeddah
airport.

He said this year the
number of pilgrims being carried by the airline stood at
71,924 requiring 191 flights each way. Many other
countries also increased their number of pilgrims
resulting in severe strain on the Jeddah terminal ...
Also with the facilities at our disposal, we could
operate only six flights a day with each flight taking
four hours, he said. We should also take into
account the fact that most of the passengers are first
time air-travellers, he added.

Expressing surprise over
media reports blaming the airline for the mess, he said
in the Haj pilgrimage, Air India is only a facilitator
with the Ministries of External Aviation and Civil
Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
and the Central Haj Committee preparing the details.

Mr Bhargava also pointed
out excess baggage carried by the pilgrims was a major
bottleneck. According to our contract with the
Central Haj Committee, each pilgrim is allowed 45 kg, but
in reality most of them carry far in excess, he
said and suggested imposition of certain disincentives
like fine for extra baggage.

He said a week ago the
backlog of baggage on ground at Jeddah terminal stood at
30 tonnes which has now come down to 8-10
tonnes.

Mr Bhargava said the
Central Haj Committee should take a decision fast on the
issue of excess baggage. At present there is no
disincentive for it, he said adding Air India could not
impose baggage restrictions on the pilgrims unilaterally.

In the first week,
the situation was frightening at Jeddah terminal,
he admitted, but added the airline could not be blamed
for the inconvenience to the pilgrims.

The baggage left behind
are being put onto the scheduled flights at no cost to
the Hajis.

He said CHC Chairman
Tanvie Ahmed reviewed the situation at Jeddah yesterday
and expressed satisfaction at the arrangements made for
the home-bound pilgrims at the terminal.

He also referred to the
delay in granting of visa by the Ministry of External
Affairs as one of the bottlenecks in the entire process.

Mr J.J. Singh, Resident
Director, attributed lack of precise information at Delhi
airport regarding the flight timings for the relatives of
the pilgrims to rolling delay at the other
end. Unless the flight takes off, it is very
difficult to say its expected time of arrival here,
Mr Singh said.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
April 5 (PTI)  Chief Ministerial-level talks
between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the vexed Mullaperiyar
dam issue failed today as both states refused to budge
from their intransigent positions on maintaining the
water level of the reservoir.

After the talks Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi told reporters that he
was unhappy that no agreement had been reached and he
would make a detailed statement on the issue in the
assembly.

Keralas Chief
Minister, EK Nayanar reiterated that the state was
uncompromising against raising the water level of the
over 112-year-old dam above 136 feet as it would endanger
its safety.

He said Tamil Nadu had
also rejected his suggestion to constitute a joint
committee of technical experts from both states to
monitor the dams parameters and performance after
installing all requisite instruments.

During the talks, Mr
Karunanidhi held that since the dam had been
strengthened, there was nothing wrong in raising the
level at first to 145 feet.

NATIONAL BRIEFS

Amusement
park in Andhra PradeshNEW
DELHI: Andhra Pradesh government has drawn up an
ambitious plan to boost tourism by setting up a Disney
land type amusement park in the state at an investment of
about Rs 750 crore. Disney land in Hyderabad is among 19
projects, involving a total investment of about Rs 2,300
crore, the state government has offered to domestic and
foreign investors, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Director, Mr G.
Kishan Rao said. Maximum number of queries have come for
the convention centre on the backwaters of the
Hussainsagar lake in Hyderabad and Disney land spread
over 400 hectares in the heart of the city, Mr Rao said. 
PTI

Stamp on Arya
Samaj releasedNEW
DELHI: The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee,
on Wednesday released a commemorative stamp on the 125th
anniversary of the Arya Samaj. The stamp was released at
his residence in the presence of Communications Minister,
Mr Ram Vilas Paswan. Addressing the gathering, Mr
Vajpayee lauded the efforts of the the Arya Samaj in the
freedom struggle and said its contribution was immense to
the country.  PTI

Telugu Internet
portal launchedVIJAYAWADA:
First ever comprehensive Telugu Internet portal for the
benefit of Telugus across the globe was launched on the
auspicious occasion of Telugu new year Ugadi,
here on Wednesday. Talking to newspersons, Mr A. Seshadri
of the Compact Ventures said the website
lambujambu.com provided a wide variety of
data like almanac, Indian culture, Telugu literature,
history, carnatic and Hindustani music, vedas,
upanishads, Andhra cuisine, drama, cinema etc. 
UNI

13 Veerappan
aides releasedMYSORE:
Thirteen alleged associates of the sandalwood
smuggler and poacher Veerappan were released from the
Mysore Jail last evening on Tuesday. All the 13 released,
hailing from Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, were accused in
the Hogenakal ambush case, in which three Sub-Inspectors
and a police constable were killed by Veerappan and his
associates. Though they were acquitted in the case, they
continued to remain in custody. District second
Additional Judge Radakrishna Holla ordered their release
on Tuesday. UNI

200 kg of
explosives seized, 2 arrestedJAIPUR:
Two persons were arrested and 200 kg of explosives seized
from them near Pola Doongari in Nagaur district of
Rajasthan on Tuesday. The explosives included ammonium
nitrate, and gilletine besides 10 kg of fuse wires they
were carrying in a jeep, the police said here on
Wednesday. They were identified as Ganga Singh and
Shripal.  UNI

Centre to bring
out farm encyclopaediaHUBLI:
The Union Government will soon bring out an
encyclopaedia on agriculture, the Minister of State for
Agriculture, Mr Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav has said.
Addressing the farmers at the Agricultural Produce
Marketing Committee (APMC) here on Tuesday, he said as
long as agricultural prices were controlled by the
companies, the farmers would not get fair price for their
produce.  UNI

EC asked to
postpone Tripura electionAGARTALA:
The Opposition Congress in Tripura has asked the Election
Commission, to postpone the coming election to the
30-member Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District
Council (TTAADC). A statement jointly signed by the TPCC
President Mr Birjit Sinha and CLP leader Mr Jawahar Saha,
here on Wednesday said the prevailing situation was not
conducive for holding the election slated for April 30
and May 3. The Congress threatened to launch a
greater movement throughout the state
if the election was not postponed.  UNI

Maneka
inaugurates vakil.comNEW
DELHI: The Minister for Social Justice and
Empowerment, Ms Maneka Gandhi, on Wednesday inaugurated a
legal portal offering free legal advice, assistance and
information. The website feedback vakil.com will offer
direct access to written opinion from a panel of lawyers
practising in different subjects. The responses will be
e-mailed within three business days. With
information technology fast spreading to rural areas
across the country, people will benefit immensely from
this service, minister said. 
UNI

Relief to Orissa
extended up to OctoberNEW
DELHI: The Centre has extended supply of
foodgrains to the cyclone affected in Orissa for another
six months till October. The Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee, in a letter to the Orissa Chief Minister, Mr
Naveen Patnaik, informed that 20 kg of rice per month
would be provided to all families regardless of economic
status at a concessional rate of Rs 4 per kg. In
addition, the Centre has also agreed to supply a special
allocation of 90,000 tonnes of wheat at below poverty
line rates, Mr Vajpayee informed the Chief Minister in
his letter dated March 30. Mr Patnaik released the letter
to the press here on Wednesday.  UNI

Counterfeit
notes racket unearthedMADURAI:
The CB-CID police has unearthed a counterfeit currency
racket and seized US dollars worth Rs 1.5 crore from a
printing press and arrested two persons in this
connection here on Wednesday. CB-CID sources said here on
Wednesday that the arrested Narayana Raj, the owner of
the press, and Vijaya Kumar were printing US dollars in
the denomination of 100. Seven negatives used for
printing the dollars were also seized.  UNI

DD revenue rises
to 610.29 croreNEW
DELHI: In an effort to prop up
Doordarshans image, the Prasar Bharati on Wednesday
announced that it had generated an all-time high revenue
of Rs 610.29 crore in the past year, a chunk of which has
come from cricket telecast. The Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of the Prasar Bharati, Mr Rajeeva Ratna Shah said
the earlier trend of DDs declining revenue had not
only been arrested but made a turn around by recording a
growth of 47.21 per cent during 1999-2000. 
PTI